LSE Business Review:
Does social media foster polarisation? A close look at the handle @realdonaldtrump
16 February 2017
Extreme polarisation is not persistent over time; people are more likely to react to specific events or news, writes Maria Molina-Domene
Social media facilitates communication and an appealing question is whether citizens use it to endorse or criticize the government. I investigate individuals’ potential polarisation about President Trump, as reflected in his personal Twitter account. In this context, polarisation relates to expressing positive or negative judgements through social media. The reach of social media is not trivial. Users use it to interact, communicate and collaborate but also scrutinise behaviours and show endorsement or disapproval. Among the most popular social media sites, Facebook and Twitter have around 2.07 billion and 330 million monthly active users, respectively.